Anyone but Me, by Ray Comfort

Someone once said that the 2 things we fear most are public speaking and dying. I think we could add a 3^rd fear: sharing the Gospel.  There are probably a lot of reasons for that, but perhaps a main one is that we don’t know how. We don’t know how to present, and we definitely don’t know how to rebut the arguments, and we all know that there will be arguments.

So for those of us who go into panic mode at the thought of sharing our faith with someone—family, friend, or stranger—it’s nice to know that there are resources to help us. Ray Comfort has been in the business of telling people about Jesus for a number of years. He approaches people in the park, has written books, made movies, and has a YouTube channel where he posts regularly. In other words, he knows what he’s talking about.  And to make it a little easier for us, he’s written a book designed to shore up our confidence and help us to do our part to obey the Great Commission: Anyone But Me: 10 Ways to Overcome Your Fear and Be Prepared to Share the Gospel (Baker Books, 2020).

This book has 10 short chapters, and although he uses a lot of scripture throughout, a lot of his guidance seems to be based on a few verses from the book of Ephesians, which talk about the Armor of God.  Comfort tells us we should be loving, obedient, decisive, defiant, focused, prepared, truthful, practiced, faithful and prayerful. 

He often mentions how he uses the 10 Commandments to show people that maybe they are not quite as good and righteous as they may think they are, and he often refers to his YouTube Channel. But his biggest draw seems to be the dog in sunglasses that accompanies him on bike rides through the park

Although I like a lot of what Comfort has to say, I’m not sure that his technique is quite as easy for everyone to use as he seems to think.  Maybe after quite a bit of practice the masses would feel comfortable with approaching someone and immediately start talking about Jesus, but it’s going to take a while.  I would love to have that ability myself, but know I’m not there yet.  Comfort also has the advantage of an established YouTube channel, so he can ask people if he can interview them on camera, and he also invested several thousand dollars in gift cards, so if they say ‘no’ he can also give them a quick meal as an incentive.

This may be just the book that some people need to read to jump start their Kingdom work, but I don’t think that I’m in line to be the next Ray Comfort.

Disclosure: I received this book free from Baker Books through the Baker Books Bloggers program.

The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review.

3/5

Get your mind right

If you asked me why I asked for a review copy of Get Your Mind Right: 10 Keys to Unlock Your Potential and Ignite Your Success by Todd Durkin (Baker Books, 2020), I don’t think I would be able to tell you. I’m mostly retired so I’m not really needing to read a lot about leadership to jumpstart or further a career. The cover wasn’t really anything that I found overly exciting, I’m not familiar with the author, and I’m not a football fan so the fact that a football player wrote the forward wasn’t a compelling reason. But I kept going back to the signup page, and finally said yes.

And I’m glad I did. (Although if I had realized that Durkin was a football player, I may not have bothered.) This is more than just another leadership book, although there are certainly a lot of would-be leaders who could benefit from it. This book is full of helpful advice for people wanting to live a healthy and fulfilling life.  Reminders about slowing down, eating healthy, exercise, contact with God, and the need for healthy relationships come through on every page.  

            Durkin is the owner of a successful business and he tells the story of how that came about to clarify things and to get his point across throughout the book. There were times when things seemed to fall into place, (sometimes despite his best efforts) and other times when getting to where he needed to be was a real struggle. But along the way he learned patience, and to wait on a timing that was better than anything he could have imagined.

            I’ve read other books by athletes and frequently was unimpressed. There was too much bragging about their exploits—on and off the playing field. Or a lot of whining about all the bad breaks they got that kept them from the championship title.  I didn’t find any of that in this book: setbacks were seen as opportunities to learn, and success is another reason to be grateful.

            So go ahead, get this book, read it, study it, and learn to ‘get your mind right’. You’ll be glad you did.

Disclosure: I received this book free from Baker Books through the Baker Books Bloggers program. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review.

5/5

on the way to becoming a good man

There’s really only ever been one ‘good man’, and even He said that no one but the Father is good. Yet men still want to be considered ‘good’ and most women and some men are looking for a good man, or think that they have found one.

            Of course, everybody seems to have their own idea of what ‘good’ looks like, so it’s pretty hard to define, but Nathan Clarkson has set out to give us a roadmap. The map is found in his recent book Good Man: An Honest Journey into Discovering Who Men Were Actually Created to Be (Baker Books, 2020) 

            

              The map takes us on the journey from who Nathan was or is to who he wants to one day be; along the way are 15 stops. Places with strange names like Adventurous, Devout, Heroic, Honest, Brotherly, Healthy, Emotional, Authentic, Romantic, Wise, Ambitious, Fighting, Simple, Servant-Hearted, and Committed.

            I’m not sure that I agree with all of Nathan’s conclusions, and I may have come up with a different list, but this seems to come from his heart. The lessons, failures, successes, heartbreaks and joys that he shares make for an intense read, or perhaps a painful one depending on how closely his experiences mirror yours.

            Whether you agree with his list or not, this book should give anyone looking for a good man some things consider while on that quest. And as far as being a book that guys should read, well, I think we all have some room for improvement. Why not learn from those who have gone before?

Disclosure: I received this book free from Baker Books through the Baker Books Bloggers program. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review.

4/5

Jesus' Elevator Speech

Everyone should have an elevator speech prepared: that short (imagine you’re in an elevator and only have from the 1^st to the 4^th floor to convince someone of something) presentation of the gospel, a new idea for the company, asking someone out on a date, generating interest in what you do for a living in the hope of getting a new client.  You’re probably not going to get everything in within that few seconds, but maybe it will generate enough interest that you get a later opportunity to talk in more detail about the thing that you’re passionate about.

 Paul Borthwick makes that case that the familiar words of John 3:16 was the elevator speech that Jesus might have used. He presents his case in a short and easy to read book Mission 3:16—God's One-Verse Invitation to Love the World. (BakerBooks, 2020)

Paul is a missiologist, that is, he is involved with Christian Missions. In that capacity he carefully breaks down the verse we know as John 3:16 into small segments and explains what it could have meant to believers some 2000 years ago, and what it might mean to believers today. All in the context of presenting the gospel, after the elevator speech of “God so loved the world…” has gotten someone’s attention which allows you the opportunity to discuss in greater detail.  And there is much more detail involved than just seeing “Jn 3:16” painted on someone’s forehead when they appear on the jumbotron at a ball game.

As a believer we’re called to Join God on His mission, this book is a great tool to help you share your faith.

5/5

a new kind of rebellion LOVE RIOT by Sara Barratt

Sara Barratt has written an interesting book calling teens into a relationship with Jesus that goes a lot farther than Sunday morning worship and midweek youth group pizza parties. Love Riot: A Teenage Call to Live with Relentless Abandon for Christ (BakerBooks, 2020) is geared towards those who know there is something missing in those safe and comfortable church gatherings that so many of us has come to know and love, precisely because they are so safe and comfortable.

Interestingly enough, during this time of protests and riots across the country, the blurb on the back cover starts with “It’s time for a revolution, a holy uprising, a love riot.”  As cities are going up in flames, stores being destroyed and looters making off with anything they can find that might be of value, words like revolution, uprising and riot are hardly the most comforting ones I can think of; but digging into the book gave me pause to think that these are actually, in the context of Barratt’s book, words of hope. If the current generation can accept this call, and bring about the kind of rebellion that Barratt is calling for, they would be no need for the kind of riots, rebellions, protests, and uprising that are currently making the news every night.

When we accept Jesus wholeheartedly and live as His disciples and followers, things change. Whichever generation changes the mindset of the culture, will change the world. 

They will truly be praying “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. When we truly pray that line, we’re telling God that we want to be a part of bringing about that heavenly kingdom, and asking Him to use us to make it happen sooner rather than later.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review. I was not required to post a positive review, just an honest expression of my thoughts about the book.

4/5